Coventry’s 600-year-old priory to open to visitors

The medieval monastery and surrounding parkland will become a visitor attraction, thanks to a £4.3million National Lottery grant.

One of Coventry’s finest medieval buildings will be restored as a major visitor attraction in time for City of Culture 2021, thanks to a multi-million pound National Lottery grant.

The Charterhouse is a Grade I Listed 14th-century Carthusian monastery set in parkland just outside the city centre.

An educational attraction

The £4.3m grant will lead to the opening of a heritage visitor centre and educational attraction as well as the creation of the first 30 acres of the planned 70-acre Heritage Park.

The economic impact of the project will add £3.5m every year to the local economy when it opens to the public in 2020.

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of HLF, said: “Charterhouse is a site steeped in heritage. From its origins as a medieval Carthusian monastery, to its subsequent associations with Richard II, the Wars of the Roses and 19th-century industrialists, it has a unique story to tell.

“This National Lottery funding will allow this precious group of Grade I listed buildings to be restored, and a welcoming visitor attraction to be created for the future.”

“It is very exciting news and also a huge relief.”Ian Harrabin, Chair of the Historic Coventry Trust

The economic impact of the project will add £3.5m every year to the local economy when it opens to the public in 2020.

Impact on the community

Ian Harrabin, Chairman of the Historic Coventry Trust, said: “It is very exciting news and also a huge relief that we are now so close to starting the project. The grant was a very significant investment by HLF which recognises both the national importance of the site and also the impact that it could have on the community.

“The Charterhouse is nationally important because it is one of only two Carthusian Monasteries with significant remains in the UK, and its wall paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries are considered to be some of our finest examples of medieval and Elizabethan art.”

Construction work is expected to start in January 2019.

'Fictive tapestry' mural; one of two Elizabethan murals at CharterhouseCredit: Historic Coventry Trust

Computer generated image of the proposed Heritage Park, once the buildings have been restoredCredit: Historic Coventry Trust

Awaiting restoration: The CharterhouseCredit: Historic Coventry Trust

Section from the 16th century Grisaille Painting, one of the building’s two Elizabethan paintings. Credit: Historic Coventry Trust